Li Ye arrived at the Public Canteen and began to enjoy his lunch.
Today his meal consisted of a serving of rice, a plate of Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes, a plate of Stir-fried Chili Pork, and a bowl of Egg Drop Soup.
Compared to the past when he could only gnaw on Mantou every day, eating had now become an enjoyment for him.
Lin Wu’s seafaring plan had already been submitted to him.
Overall, the content was rather detailed. The most crucial point was that the sea and air forces of Tomorrow had to be strong enough to carry the entire Alliance.
While reading the report, Li Ye suddenly recalled something.
The Level 3 items at the Western Wasteland Continent City Auction House.
In fact, ever since leaving the Sedimentary Basin, he had barely paid any attention to the Auction House.
It wasn’t until now, when he finally had some leisure time, that he snapped back to reality.
"There should be some new Level 3 items listed at the Auction House now, right?"he thought to himself.Just thinking about it stirred his urge to act.
He had personally experienced the power of Level 3 items this time.
But one thing troubled Li Ye — Level 3 items typically started at hundreds of thousands of Crystal Coins, and he didn’t have much on hand.
"Maybe I should try selling goods at the Auction House. I could sell more beverages."
After all, Tomorrow was currently located in the Plateau Zone, an area filled with glacier-covered snowy peaks.
Its deck-mounted Mechanical Arms could harvest Ice Layers, melt them into freshwater, and turn them into Cola, Orange Juice, and Iced Black Tea in the Production Workshop.
It was practically pure profit with zero cost.
Thinking about this, Li Ye couldn’t help but nod repeatedly.
In this way, the inflow of Crystal Coins would be secured.
Incidentally, the beverages in the Auction House were extremely diverse, ranging from Cola, Sprite, and Fanta to Pulpy Orange, Juice, and Soda Water — nearly everything was available.
And their prices were almost always 1 Crystal Coin.
The reason was simple — Mobile Cities selling beverages were usually situated near Freshwater Lake resources. This allowed them to have an endless supply of water for production, effectively making it pure profit.
Under such circumstances, everyone went to extremes to compete.
If the Auction House didn’t enforce a minimum listing price of 1 Crystal Coin, Li Ye reckoned those guys would drop it to 0.5, or even 0.1.
Thus, his previously unbeatable Cola also failed this time.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but shake his head.
The Western Wasteland Continent City Auction House was good, sure — but it was just too competitive!
Resources like Iron Ore, Coal, and Wood had all been driven down to rock-bottom prices. Only essential resources like Fuel and Petroleum remained relatively stable — Li Ye actually believed that the sellers of oil and fuel had, after a brief price war, reached a tacit agreement to maintain pricing.
Overall, this continent-level City Auction House was a buyer’s market. Everything was cheaper than usual — except for Level 3 items.
On the first day the Western Wasteland Continent City Auction House opened, Li Ye had listed some items as usual.
By the end of the first day, after doing the math, he realized he had earned less than 1000 Crystal Coins.
Seeing that, he simply lost interest in the hustle.
During its migration across the Plateau Zone, Tomorrow conveniently began water extraction.
Its Universal Mechanical Arm was fitted with a thick water intake pipe. The resident responsible for operations maneuvered the Mechanical Arm and inserted its glowing probe tip into the ice surface. In an instant, hissing steam and melted ice water formed roiling clouds.
The valve on the intake pipe opened with a roar. The spiral drill bit on the Mechanical Arm began to spin, sucking in massive chunks of shattered ice from the Ice Layer into the pipe.
These ice chunks first traveled through the steam pipelines in the Lower Deck Power District, where they were naturally heated into water and transported across various areas of the city.
A portion of this water would pass through the Jieyuan City Purification System, filtered into drinkable freshwater.
Due to the inexhaustible supply of freshwater, Tomorrow once again lifted its water usage restrictions.
The original small bathhouse was now open 24/7.
As for beverages like Cola, Orange Juice, and Iced Black Tea, they were distributed daily in limited quantities, free of charge.
Residents of Tomorrow cheered one after another.
The first thing everyone needed to do was line up at the Storage or the Public Canteen to collect their beverages. Each person could queue once a day and receive 10 bottles of beverages, freely mix-and-match.
The Small Bathhouse was overcrowded.
Not only in Tomorrow — the same went for the other three Mobile Cities.
After finishing lunch, Li Ye walked into the Cockpit.
As soon as he logged into the City Auction House, a prompt popped up before his eyes.
【The Western Wasteland Continent City Auction House will close in 54 minutes and 23 seconds.】
"So it’s about to be gone, huh."A hint of regret flashed in Li Ye’s eyes.
This continent-level City Auction House was truly excellent. It would be great if it could remain open permanently.
After bulk-listing beverages crafted in the Production Workshop, he continued browsing the Auction House.
What still attracted him the most was Level 3 items.
"There should be new Level 3 items listed over these past days, right? Let’s see if there’s anything good."he thought.
Soon enough, an item popped up on the Auction House.
It was a four to five-meter-tall combat robot — or rather, a manned combat mech.
It adopted a bipedal walking design, with a frame made of heavy Riveted Steel Panels, its exterior covered in welding marks.
The Cockpit was open-style. The pilot would be half-exposed, protected only by a simple metal frame and armor. On its back were thick Hydraulic Power Pipes and Steam Exhaust Valves. With every movement, it would spew high-pressure gas, producing a hissing exhaust sound.
Its legs were covered in multiple layers of Armor Plating, and the joints exposed Piston Rods and Gear Sets, making it appear very solid and heavy.
Its weapons were Dual Rotating Machine Guns on both arms, and a Multi-tube Rocket Launch Pod mounted on its shoulders.
【Item Name: Human Resistance Combat Robot】
【Grade: Level 3】
【Additional Effects: 1. +35% Damage to Mechanical Lifeforms 2. +25% Defense Boost】
【Mounted Weapons:】
【Dual Rotating Machine Guns】
【Multi-tube Rocket Launch Pod】
【Cutting Blade】
Li Ye glanced at its price. It was listed for 60,000 Crystal Coins.
That was considered cheap — for a Level 3 item, anyway.
Judging from the listing time, this Level 3 item had already been on the Auction House for a while with no interest.
The reasons were simple.
First, the Cockpit of this combat robot was exposed, offering no protection whatsoever to the pilot.
Second, its additional effects weren’t impressive. If it provided +35% Damage to Buildings or Vehicles, the price would have skyrocketed.
Third, its mounted weapons were fairly average.
Li Ye continued browsing.
Currently, there were nine Level 3 items listed on the Auction House.
Prices ranged from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand.
Soon, something caught his eye.
It was a Level 3 Blueprint — a type of mobility Jetpack.
Dual High-pressure Steam Nozzles, Wrist-mounted Micro Auxiliary Thrusters, Foot-buffering Steam Pistons — this mobility jetpack had a futuristic design that instantly drew attention.
【Item Name: "Skywing" Tactical Mobility Jetpack】
【Grade: Level 3】
【Additional Effects: 1. +10% Stability 2. +15% Vertical Lift 3. -10% Fuel Consumption】
【Crafting Requirements: 50 Units of Level 3 Iron Ore, 20 Units of Level 3 Fabric, 10 Units of Copper Ore】
Li Ye examined it carefully; the blueprint also included technical specifications.
This jetpack’s maximum load was 270kg, enough to carry a soldier and standard equipment.
It could jump to heights between 3 and 25 meters.
In burst dash mode, it could reach speeds of up to 120km/h, sustained for 2 seconds.
Its Fuel Compartment could hold 4.5kg of fuel, providing about 45 minutes of operational time.
Li Ye looked at its price.
It wasn’t expensive — only 35,000 Crystal Coins.
The reason was also simple. The regions of the Western Wasteland Continent were all Level 1 to Level 2; there didn’t seem to be any Level 3 Mobile Cities.
Even if there were, they had likely gone to sea in search of further development.
The latest novel is released first here!
Buyers at the Western Wasteland Continent Auction House were mostly from Level 1 or Level 2 Cities. For them, among Level 3 items, ready-to-use finished goods were far preferable to blueprints.
"Should I buy it or not?"Li Ye hesitated.
Holding a try-it-and-see mindset, he first searched for Level 3 Iron Ore and Level 3 Fabric.
Surprisingly, they were available in the Auction House!
123 units of Level 3 Iron Ore, priced at 162 Crystal Coins per unit.
214 units of Level 3 Fabric, priced at 95 Crystal Coins per unit.
These Level 3 resources were clearly sourced from Level 2 Wild BOSSes, or possibly from Level 2 Neutral Towns, Monstrous Caravans, and so on.
Li Ye shook his head.
The prices of Level 3 Iron Ore and Level 3 Fabric were a bit inflated. The sellers obviously listed them with a speculative mindset, aiming for high prices despite low demand.
"Why don’t we just buy it, Brother Li,"Tang Fang, who was beside him, spoke up."This is a Level 3 Blueprint! The price is decent. Even if we don’t use it right away, I think it’s worth it."
Li Ye nodded. Truth be told, he had the same thought.
But as the Lord of a Mobile City, Li Ye had to consider one thing.
That was the practicality of this jetpack.
Very quickly, a flash of insight struck him.
Utilize the high mobility offered by this jetpack to form a Special Forces unit.
Then equip them with Rifles, Military Daggers, and Gale Rocket Launchers to enhance their combat power.
In terrains such as City Architecture Clusters, Mountains, Canyons, and Jungles, this jetpack-equipped Special Forces unit could yield unexpected results.
With that thought, Li Ye searched the Auction House for Special Forces professional manuals.
Its price was 9,100 Crystal Coins.
"That expensive?"Li Ye gasped.
Watching the countdown as the Auction House approached closing, he gently shook his head.
"Miss this chance, and there won't be another. Better buy it."
At the moment, beverage sales on his Auction House listings were quite low. It was unrealistic to expect to earn tens of thousands of Crystal Coins from them alone.
After selling off all his stored Natural Gas and offloading some Petroleum as well, Li Ye finally gathered enough money to purchase both the Jetpack Blueprint and the professional manual.
He immediately summoned Lin Wu, instructing him to select a group of residents for training in the direction of Special Forces, and to input the manual into the City Simulation Training Pod, setting up a series of training scenarios.
To this, Lin Wu offered his own suggestion.
"Since it’s Special Forces training, why not select directly from Combat Personnel?"he said.
"Alright."Li Ye nodded.
"What rank will Special Forces personnel receive?"Lin Wu asked again.
"T3."Li Ye replied.
Then he realized a problem.
The Class Rank System on Tomorrow seemed insufficient now.
Back in the beginning, T1 through T7 ranks worked fine, as there were only a few dozen residents aboard Tomorrow.
But now, Tomorrow housed several hundred people and included positions such as Crew Members, Staff Members, City Committee, Doctors and Nurses, and Public Canteen staff.
Li Ye then discussed it with Lin Wu, and soon they came up with a new system.
The original T1 to T7 ranks would remain, but each rank would be subdivided into three levels.
Taking the T7 rank for Ordinary Residents as an example, it would be split from low to high as T7-3, T7-2, T7-1. Then they would be promoted to T6-3.
This setup had another advantage — the T4 rank held by Combat Personnel would become more prestigious, encouraging more residents to take on the role of Combat Personnel.
"Let’s proceed with this plan."Li Ye said."Once you and the City Committee are ready, announce it."
"Finally refreshed."
Gazing at the last piece of intelligence in the Intelligence Panel, Li Ye nodded slightly.
It was Epic Intelligence, and its value was self-evident.
However, after reading the details carefully, Li Ye’s expression gradually became grave.
【7. As of now, if the Human Forces go to war with the Monster Forces, under the condition of equal tactical command and personnel quality, the Human side’s win rate is 39%, while the Monster side’s win rate is 61%. (Intelligence Value: Epic)】
Reading this, Li Ye couldn’t help but shake his head and tiredly rest his hand on his forehead.
"How could it be like this?"
To be fair, when he first crossed into this monster-ridden Wasteland, he didn’t feel much sense of safety.
It wasn’t until he encountered world-class organizations of the Human side like the Apocalypse Sect and the Titan Throne that hope stirred within him, filling him with expectations for the future.
But half of those hopes vanished instantly after he learned the contents of the Silence Agreement.
Now, after seeing the contents of this intelligence, his mood plummeted.
"The Human Forces' win rate is not even 40%? How can that be possible?"
Li Ye lifted his head and looked out the window into the distance.
Clearly, the situation in this world was far worse than he had imagined.
If he had been a little more observant, he might have noticed something back in the Wasteland Zone.
Even the lowest-ranked Level 1 Monsters were highly intelligent, capable of using all kinds of Firearms, even Heavy Machine Guns and Cannons.
And Level 1 Goblin Civilization already possessed Mobile Cities. The Goblins’ combat capabilities were impressive — not only could they operate Mobile Cities proficiently, but they even understood Mobile Evasion.
The vast Western Wasteland Continent, at most, was just a large-scale Newbie Village for Mobile Cities.
Li Ye had yet to glimpse the true face of this world.
What intrigued him most now was
the world-class organizations of the Monsters.
Judging by the strength demonstrated by the Titan Throne and the Apocalypse Sect, the Monsters’ world-class organizations were clearly not weak — they were likely even stronger.
Li Ye’s thoughts became increasingly clear.
No wonder, when facing the rapidly expanding Zombie Civilization, the Apocalypse Sect — one of the world-class organizations — chose to adhere to the Silence Agreement and insisted on only deploying Level 2 Mobile Cities to the battlefield.
The reason was very simple.
The current global situation was extremely unfavorable to the Human Forces, so following the Silence Agreement benefited them.
If the Apocalypse Sect chose to send out higher-level Mobile Cities, the Monsters would do the same.
At that point, the entire southern Western Wasteland Continent would be reduced to scorched earth.